hardships and privations
A yojijukugo (four-character compound) describing a state of severe difficulty and lack of necessities. Formal and somewhat literary.
During the war, the people endured hardships and privations.
困苦 alone means 'hardship' or 'suffering', while 困苦欠乏 adds the element of 'lack' or 'privation'.
欠乏 means 'shortage' or 'deficiency'; 困苦欠乏 combines this with the notion of hardship.
A yojijukugo composed of 困苦 (hardship) and 欠乏 (shortage, privation). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it follows a common pattern of pairing related concepts in four-character compounds.